Some of the crucial projects of the Water Resources Department (WRD) to prevent sand bar formation in river mouths and reduce inundation have remained on paper for three years now. The major reasons for these are either a long wait for funding or a lack of committees at the district and State level to provide project approval.
The Department had proposed to construct a training wall at the mouth of Ennore creek to reduce sedimentation and minimise risk of inundation in upstream areas. One of the early project proposals was made in 2017. Some of the key aspects of the holistic rejuvenation of the creek were dredging of the estuary for a length of 500 metres, building straight training walls on the north and south sides of the mouth, and demolition of old piers near Nettukuppam.
Sources in the WRD noted that besides the pandemic situation, the project is still waiting to take off after the district-level committee approval. The committee in the State Coastal Zone Management Authority, which has to provide coastal regulation zone clearance, is yet to be formed. It is this committee that would also have to recommend the projects for approval to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
It may be recalled that researchers from IIT Madras proposed a straight training wall as a solution to prevent flooding around the banks of Kosasthalaiyar river that joins the creek.
Sources in the WRD noted that a combination of boulders and tetrapods was proposed to be used to build the wall to withstand strong wave action and provide better access for fishing boats. The ₹121.8 crore is meant to be implemented in two phases.
Similarly, a ₹70 crore project to construct a training wall to minimise sand bar formation on the Cooum river mouth is also pending for two years now. The department had planned to build a training wall for sustainable opening of the river mouth under the aegis of the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust. However, this project too is pending, as the committee for District Coastal Zone Management Authority is not functioning, sources said.
For more than four years now, a project to restore the beach near Shore Temple at Mamallapuram and reclaim the eroding shoreline has also remained shelved owing to lack of funds. It was submitted for Central Water Commission funding based on a study made by the National Institute of Ocean Technology.
Similar projects proposed by the Greater Chennai Corporation have also been put on hold, sources added.
Published - August 22, 2021 03:50 pm IST
